Mr B Petrov v Merlin Supply Chain Solutions Ltd and 1 other — 2022

Mr Petrov said that he suffered disability discrimination and unfair dismissal in connection with work he carried out at Knights of Old. The tribunal recorded that he had signed a contract of employment with Fair Pay Services Limited on 24 March 2020, that Merlin Supply Chain Solutions Ltd supplied workers to Knights of Old under a service level agreement, and that Mr Petrov accepted Fair Pay was his employer and that Merlin did not manage him day to day. He said he was treated badly after disclosing type II diabetes and after comments said to have been made about Brighton.

On limitation, the tribunal held that the disability discrimination complaint was presented significantly out of time and that it was not just and equitable to extend time under section 123 Equality Act 2010. It found that Mr Petrov had been able to engage in ACAS early conciliation, that he had a sense of grievance when his employment ended in June 2020, and that his explanations for delay were not sufficient. Those explanations included COVID-related difficulty, financial hardship, blood sugar problems, the January 2021 house fire, and language difficulties; the tribunal noted that he had completed the claim form himself in English and had sought advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau in March 2021.

The tribunal also said the underlying merits were weak because Merlin was not the employer and could not be treated as the principal for section 41 Equality Act purposes; the principal was Knights of Old as the hirer. It therefore said that, if the time point had been decided differently, the claim against Merlin would have been struck out for no reasonable prospect of success. No remedy was awarded because no substantive liability was found.